France ‘gilets jaunes’ protesters detained and tear-gassed

French police clashed in Paris on Saturday with protesters staging a fourth weekend of “gilets jaunes” demonstrations against the government of President Emmanuel Macron. Officers fired rubber bullets and hundreds of canisters of tear gas at the demonstrators, some of whom had set several vehicles on fire. At least 30 people were reported wounded, including three police officers, with 551 people taken into custody. Two photographers from the newspaper Le Parisien were hit by projectiles. One was taken to hospital as dusk drew near in a city still in shock from last weekend’s riots — the worst to hit the French capital in decades. One Paris resident, teacher Francesca Testi, tweeted a video of “gilets jaunes” protesters smashing up what appeared to be a cafe. Another French radio reporter, Boris Kharlamoff, tweeted a photo of his wounded stomach after being hit by a rubber bullet. “A policeman shot at me with a rubber bullet even though my press arm band was showing,” he wrote. “It hurts but it’s alright. Colleagues be careful on the Champs-Elysees.” Several thousand protesters, most of them male and dressed in “gilets jaunes,” the yellow high-visibility jackets that have become the symbol of the movement, took part in demonstrations, converging on the Champs-Elysees around midday local time. Police then used water cannons in a bid to disperse the crowd. Tires were also set on fire, but with riot police outnumbering the demonstrators by about two to one, there were none of the violent scenes that grabbed… [Read full story]